Korea’s card spending jumps 16% in January

Korea’s card spending rose sharply in January, data showed Friday, on the back of increased consumption for the Lunar New Year holiday and a gradual recovery in domestic demand.

Purchases made with plastic cards reached 56.1 trillion won ($45.4 billion) last month, up 15.9 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Credit Finance Association (CREFIA).

Of the amount, credit card spending went up 15.9 percent on-year to 44.79 trillion won, while those of debit cards advanced 16.2 percent to 11.2 trillion won over the cited period, according to the data.The data includes transactions on credit, debit and prepaid cards. Cash advances, overseas spending and card loans were not included.

“This year, the new year holiday started earlier than last year, which mainly led to the growth in January’s credit card spending,” a CREFIA official said.

The retail sector, including department stores and big retail chains, enjoyed a 20.4 percent surge in credit spending on-year to 6.7 trillion won, the data showed.

In particular, purchases made by credit cards in convenience stores spiked 56 percent thanks to the increase in small families and the solid growth in sales of their private-brand products, according to the association.